Important News!

Welcome to the Underdark

Hey guys, I got’s good news and bad news for yall’s

Good news is that I’ve completed translating the novel!

Bad news is that the good news was because the author deleted the novel…

 

So, what do you guys want me to translate?

Chapter 2 – Thief

 

There is no doubt that she does it.

But she has no other way to earn a living. In today’s society, it is hard to get a proper profession unless you have a respectable family.

 

There’s no helping it

Toto thought.

 

She was an orphan since birth.

Toto had no surname.

It was a dream within a dream to get a job. It was difficult to even make money. By the time she was old enough to be tried as a criminal, she had already committed theft. When she noticed, she’d already developed a technique to open locked doors.

Toto didn’t stay in one town too much, as soon as she stole, she moved to another town.

It was easier to steal during the day rather than at night.

 

There were only one or two people around at night but everyone left during the day. Especially those of a good family, they left their houses during the day. There were servants but because there was no master at home, they were more relaxed.

 

Toto was called the ‘Gold Rat’ by her fellow companions. It came from her blond hair which Toto thought was wonderful. And it was a name which brought respect when stealing valuables. She doesn’t like rats, but she’s a thief.

It is not a luxury.

 

The job should be easy.

She came to the ‘Koai Kingdom’, one of the kingdoms under the empire, two years ago to steal some valuables. Trade was prosperous as it was the island nation which was used as a relay between continents. It was a place that new people could enter easily.

Well…

Toto thought to come to Orin under the guise of a trader. At Orin, in a huge port town to the west was a straight road called “Blue Way”, it ran from the east to the west of the port. An array of shops and stalls were queued up in rows, while large groups of people came and went.

 

She disappeared into the crowd.

 

Toto looked around. With a quick sleight of hand, Toto stole some food from a stall and filled her belly.

 

It wasn’t necessary to do lots of work.

Tomorrow, she could even eat good food.

 

I abandoned that luxury…

 

She passed the residence that she lived in two years ago. In the country house of the merchant, good things didn’t happen in succession. Although some collections of a naughty hobby were stolen, there were few that fetched a high price.

 

Let’s see here…

 

On the street, there was a mansion which she broke into.

There were two reasons.

One was because the mansion was huge. There was no doubt that this belonged to a person of a noticeable status. There was a garden too, it met a detached room. Another, was because it was quite quiet. During the day, the residents were out.

 

She looked left and right before turning at ‘Blue Way’

 

After advancing on the road for a while, she reached the entrance to the mansion. Of course, no fool enters from the front.

 

She walked along the fence. When she confirmed no one was watching, she took out the ‘red crystal’ tucked in her belt. She put it next to the fence and backed off a little.

 

“Doramu Fina!”

 

When the incantation was spoken, the ‘Red Crystal’ exploded. A part of the fence blew off and there was a hole in it’s place.

 

There seem to be no measures against magic.

 

She broke through the first barrier. She made her body smaller and passed through the hole in the fence. She entered through the garden and climbed a tree.

 

“Where do I go from here…”

 

Toto murmured alone.

 

Is that the main building which is near the detached room?

 

She gazed hard.

This stopped her from overlooking the subtle changes.

It was then…

 

The air shook.

With a ‘Gakun’, a huge shock happened.

 

“Uwa!”

 

She let go of the tree. 

She almost fell on the garden.

Then, once again, there was another shock wave. Immediately before she fell, she was thrown to the side.

 

“Guhaa~!”

 

Her consciousness faded away for an instant.

 

What happened?

 

Before she noticed, she was in the fountain.

 

“Aa, mou!”

 

She raised her dripping wet body.

She looked for where the shock wave came from.

 

It’s… Magic…

 

It pushed the limits of what a human could do with magic.

She was certain that it was some kind of magic.

 

But…

 

Toto thought further.

 

What magic can produce a shockwave that strong?

It could not possibly be a magic crystal. If you use an extremely big crystal, it’s possible. However, there wouldn’t a be a person foolish enough to use such a crystal at a time like this.

 

Then, is it an incantation and magic formation? Even with the know-how, how long would it take? She thought as she seemed to be losing consciousness.

Out of pure curiosity, Toto started running. She was certain it was from the detached room.

She took a detour around the entrance to the backdoor of the detached room. There was no window or empty keyholes. A small amount of red crystal was put in the window to make a hole big enough for her.

She entered the corridor. Her body slid towards the door where she masked her presence.

If there was a person it would be dangerous, but Toto used the art of assassination to conceal herself. As expected, there was no one in the room.

 

She breathed out. She looked around the room with a calm head. There was a bed and a cupboard.

 

She opened the cupboard, and it occurred to Toto that she had to change her clothes. She hadn’t bathed recently. It made her realise how dirty she was, just from falling in the fountain.

 

There were clothes in the cupboard. All the clothes were white. There was a frilly dress too. Toto grabbed it and threw it on the bed.

 

Too hard to move…

 

Thinking thus, she tore the long skirt down the middle with a knife. Putting on a belt, she squeezed her waist to attach it. Looking further into the cupboard, she found underwear.

To change, she took off her clothes. The sewn needlework of the Azabu matched her current ones and she tied the clothes around her waist.

These were also stolen clothes. She had no personal attachment to them.

After she had taken it off, she tried to wear her undergarments.

 

…eh?

 

She didn’t notice the footsteps.

Usually, this would not be possible.

Was her concentration wandering, or was the other party very good at concealing footsteps? The door opened. A man stood there.

 

“Ki, KyaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaAAA!”

 

Unintentionally, she screamed.

 

— POV CHANGE —

 

Futoshi rushed to the blonde girl the moment she started screaming. He covered her mouth and pushed her down on to the bed.

 

“Ugu…”

“Be quiet…”

 

He intended to intimidate her as much as possible. However in his new body, only a thin voice came out.

The naked girl who had her mouth covered nodded many times with tears in her eyes. If you looked carefully, she was extremely beautiful.

In her hand was a white cloth, her undergarments?

 

Stark naked.

 

Her golden hair, which seemed to be the only source of light, spread out on top of the bed. Her eyes were round and large. The trembling pupils inside were emerald green.

 

“You…are you a person from around here?”

Futoshi asked.

 

He became aware of a knife which was thrown on the bed. The girl with the blonde hair didn’t answer.

 

“You are a thief?”

 

That was Futoshi’s intuition. He had done it before he entered this world. He had seen too many thieves. At that time, the girl had the peculiar atmosphere of a thief.

 

“Meruma-sama! Where are you?”

In the corridor, Ari’s voice sounded out.

 

The blonde girl stiffened her body. It was a thin body. If he held on too strongly, he may break a few bones.

 

“It’s so stupid… that a burglar screams out…”

 

Futoshi moved from the blonde girl’s body.

 

“Hey, I’ll overlook this, under one request.”

“Wh, what is it?!” asked the blonde girl as she was close to tears on the bed.

“Don’t cry while you’re naked!”

 

Futoshi spat out the answer.

 

“Ah… but… I…”

 

The girl said in embarrassment.

 

“Don’t cry, because it’s fine, ok?”

 

When Futoshi advised the girl, he left the room calmly. When the door closed firmly, he heard Ari’s voice cry out.

 

“I’m here, Ari!”

“Why won’t you wait…!”

 

Ari ran over while complaining. In Futoshi’s hand was a glass and a pitcher which he took from a tray.

 

“My bad…” said Futoshi while he was receiving the tray.

“Well, you may return to your room.”

“Umm…”

 

Slightly embarrassed, Ari looked at Futoshi.

 

“My room… is on the other side of the door, which Meruma-sama has to his back.”

“What the hell!”

 

Futoshi panicked.

 

He intended to give the water to the blonde girl. He intended to hear about the various ways of this world, what this house was and what she wanted to know. If the other party was a thief, then there wouldn’t be any trouble in the future either.

 

“Ah, ummm… that is so!” Futoshi said immediately.

“W-will you go to father after all?”

“Why would I?”

 

The housemaid with the red hair puffed her cheeks. After a while, Futoshi answered with some thought.

 

“I have a stomach ache!”

“Eeeeh?”

 

“It’s terrible, because I have a pain in my stomach, I want to rest… Oh… Ouch… the pain…”

“A, are you alright?”

“I, I’m alright! Because it will get better soon!”

 

It was a terrible lie.

 

Futoshi opened the door to his rear as he finished speaking and stepped into the room.

He shut the door quickly.

 

“Eh? Eh? Ehhh?  Meruma-sama!” Ari’s scream sounded outside the door.

“Th, That room, is my room…!”

 

She steadily knocked on the door as she tried to open it with a clatter. However, he obstructed it as best as he could. It seemed to be a room without a key. It indeed felt like the room of a servant.

 

“Please… right now, I wish to rest in this bed!” He shouted to Ari on the other side of the door.

“I, I Understand… then, for the time being, I’ll tell Grande-sama about you…”

“Please!”

 

When Futoshi answered so, Ari’s footsteps faded away.

 

“It’s alright…” Futoshi said to the blonde girl who stood watching while sticking to the wall.

“W, with that… are you going to embrace me?” asked the nude girl with a firm expression.

 

—

TRANSLATOR’S CORNER

—

 

elsondwarf: Sh, sh, shut up! I’m not late, you are! B-b-baka!

 

…

 

Elsondwarf: In any case, sorry editor-san! I made the mistake of calling Toto a He the entire first half!

 

Sam Jakes: I’m very sorry for being late with the edits! I’ll try and finish the next chapter as soon as elson finishes his TL. Cheers!

 

Elsondwarf: Eheheh, I suppose that puts a bit of pressure on me then. Time to get started!

 

Elsondwarf: Also, the change made in this chapter was [Ali > Ari]

 

Chapter 000 – Just Before

Welcome to the Underdark

000 – Just Before

 

Year 37 of the Empire

Teimasu Meruma didn’t go to horseman training school. In a small library, he opened a book. The magic books that he had spent three years collecting were lined up in the library. He had read them many times, and had already memorized them. A magic formation was set up at his feet.

The floor of the room was filled with geometrical patterns. The complex magic characters and shapes which Meruma had reproduced had been meticulously drawn down to the last detail.

From a round window in the ceiling, the daylight poured down in a straight line.

 

It’s finally complete…

 

When meruma closed his book, he was overcome by his emotions.

 

⇔

 

Year 2014 of the Western Calendar

Futoshi Saji of the Sajitaishi family was the bodyguard and had a katana in his hand. He was still thinking, how did this happen?

He had dropped out of high school and joined the ‘Namikawa Firm’, a so-called crime syndicate. He was only in the Namikawa Firm for a year. It was destroyed by the prosecution of the police. Though Futoshi was questioned, he was set free with minor charges. Afterwards, he rampaged in the town at night.

If you show off your strength, someone will employ you, so to speak.

Actually, rumours started quickly. An organization that wanted to hire a bodyguard came out.

He judged it to be a place that suited him. Futoshi became a bodyguard. He came to work as a bodyguard in various places. Even now. The ‘Takenaka group’ was invited to a meeting of the ‘Yonezawa group’.

It was the Takenaka group that Futoshi was employed in. He didn’t know what to do at meetings. However, he stands behind the gang leader of the Takenaka Group and glares.

That’s a bodyguard.

When the other person makes a strange move, he fights.  He had a katana by his left hand always ready to fight. A man who did not look like a bodyguard stood behind the gang leader of the Yonezawa group.

He had googly eyes.

He quietly stared at Futoshi.

 

One move and ‘fire’.

 

He won’t know what hit him

 

He’s been working as a bodyguard for half a year. However, Futoshi has never pulled his sword. The gang also likes him, he doesn’t try to use violence.

 

“With such a thing…”

 

The leader of the Takenaka Group, who was Futoshi’s leader, stood up.

 

“Please wait.”

 

The leader of the Yonezawa Group glared at the leader of the Takenaka group in a terrible manner.

 

“There will be counter measures.”

“Such as?”

 

In a cold voice, the leader of the Takenawa Group answered.

 

“So, what will you do?”

“It will be so… so heartbreaking… when the Takenaka group collapses.”

“It is impossible.”

 

The leader of the Takenaka group winked at Futoshi, indicating that they were returning. Futoshi, standing behind the leader, nodded, bowed, and turned to leave.

Then.

 

“Wait a minute, hey!”

 

A yell rises. While he was turning around, Futoshi pulled out his katana. The leader of the Yonezawa group pointed a gun at them and was cut in two by a single stroke. He was cut diagonally from the top.

Fresh blood flowed.

An expensive table and sofa were dyed in red.

 

“We’re leaving!”

 

The Takenaka leader yelled.

 

“It’d be bad if we stay here.”

 

However, Futoshi was not able to move. The bodyguard of the leader of the Yonezawa group pointed his muzzle.

“You’re the one who he hired, are you not?”

 

The leader of the Yonezawa group was already dead. The master who he had to protect was gone; there was no need to point a gun. The other party didn’t answer his words.

 

“I’ll leave.”

 

The leader of the Takenaka group left the room. The door was violently closed. The sound of footsteps could be heard going down the stairs.

 

Futoshi strengthened the grip on his katana. He was likely going to die here. He thought vaguely.

 

Something…

 

Did he actually do anything sincere in the last 17 years?

His parents, who were working in a small factory, committed suicide after falling into a large debt. Since then, Futoshi’s life noisily collapsed.

 

He could study.

His kendo was also pretty good.

He wasn’t even a bad person.

He even had a friend.

 

Why…

 

Did it go this way?

 

“I should have murdered for your boss.”

 

Said the bodyguard of the Yonezawa group.

 

With a voice thinner than he could imagine.

 

“The old bird Takenaka was going to die from the beginning

“Is that so…”

 

I’m not so sure.

Futoshi didn’t know a lot about the underworld. When he realized, he was already there. Thinking, it was probably better to be in that kind of environment from when you were born.

 

“You will also die here.”

 

The bodyguard who pointed his muzzle laughed.

 

⇔

 

When Meruma went out of the library, he used a ladder. There was a library in the basement of his house. He said it was a study room, that no one can enter.

It seems that originally this room was going to be used as a war shelter. There was no war in the end. As a result, the room remained untouched.

The room was unrefined, it was filled with soil and moist throughout the year. Nobody was entering it. In order not to alert anyone, Meruma quietly entered the mansion.

 

I may die…

 

He thought.

 

If he fails, he might die. He is going to try magic.

 

He entered a room on the second floor, Meruma wrote two letters.

One was a will, in case he failed.

The other was a letter for if he succeeded.

 

⇔

 

The sound of gunfire, from the other side of the door.

 

Apparently, the leader of the Takenaka group was killed. Multiple footsteps made their way up the stairs.

 

Futoshi closed his eyes.

He did not give up.

He was ready.

 

He took a deep breath.

He opened his eyes.

 

The katana was set up in a lower position.

He kicked at the floor.

 

A gunshot was fired and sparks rose. Though he expected it, he didn’t avoid it. He shifted his pose slightly diagonally so that he could avoid a fatal injury.

 

A sharp pain ran through his left shoulder, but he didn’t stop.

 

He jumped over the corpse of the Yonezawa group leader. He rushed to the bodyguard of the enemy.

He heard the second gunshot.

He raised the sword.

 

“Shit.”

 

After the short voice, the bodyguard fell to the floor. He was twitching and convulsing.

He still seemed to breathe. Even then, he still wouldn’t be saved.

 

He turned around.

The door was open.

Five men entered.

Handguns shone respectively as they were grasped in their hands.

 

“Wh, what?”

 

One person said as he looked at the Yonezawa group leader. Futoshi waved his sword. Blood flew off of it. It took time for the five people to assess the situation.

 

“ Raaahhh—!”

 

He roared.

Futoshi raised his sword.

One by one, he cut the people in front of him. Several gunshots were heard. His ears were buzzing in the middle. He didn’t hear if his eardrum ruptured. Bright red blood drew an arc in the air as it scattered.

 

⇔

 

He finished writing his letters. Meruma left his testament on the desk. Another letter was politely folded and thrust in his pocket.

The door to the room was opened. He confirmed that no one was in the corridor. Masking his footsteps, he descended towards the ground floor. After thinking a little, he entered the washroom. He searched in the drawers and found a handy glass mirror.

He entered the warehouse with a door to his basement. When he descended down the ladder, he inhaled greatly.

 

Goodbye, world.

 

It is a fate he chose himself.

He still trembled.

Whether this was the correct choice would depend on what happened later. He walked to the back of the room so as not to damage the magic formation. He lifted the crystal, which emitted a blue light, from the pedestal.

The floor shone as the last confirmation.

Both the magical letters and shapes were artistic and beautiful. A white line was drawn all over the floor, in shapes, letters and text.

 

“It’s going well.”

 

He persuaded himself.

Meruma returned the crystal to the pedestal with shaky hands. He put the hand mirror at the noticeable place.

He stood at the center of the formation. His heart was beating loudly.

The wind came unexpectedly.

It was a little cold.

 

⇔

 

By the time he’d noticed, Futoshi stood alone in the office.

 

“A, a monster…”, said the voice of the falling Yonezawa bodyguard.

 

He seemed to not have died yet.

 

Maybe he’s right…

 

Futoshi thought.

He was a monster. His body ate several bullets and was still alive and he was still standing.

 

⇔

 

He memorized the spell words. He could say it without having to think about it. Meruma said the incantation carefully.

The wind strengthened.

The drawn magic formation began to glow faintly. He was an atheist, but Meruma prayed for it to succeed.

 

Please, a place better than here.

 

⇔

 

“But it’s already over…”

 

Futoshi knew himself best.

He couldn’t survive any longer.

He was dying.

 

Buddha did not believe in God either, but Futoshi prayed.

 

Please, a better place than here.

 

⇔

 

Meruma squinted his eyes.

The light was getting stronger.

 

The air was warping.

Everything that was visible to him began to distort.

Standing  became painful.

His heartbeat was irregular.

It’s a success!

 

While chanting the spell, Meruma was convinced.

Surely, one’s soul will start to slip out of the body.

⇔

 

Futoshi fell on the floor.

He was still conscious.

He understood that darkness was approaching around the corner.

 

⇔

 

Meruma finished the spell.

At that moment, he was thrown into darkness.

His consciousness was pulled into the darkness.

 

⇔

 

Futoshi’s consciousness broke off.

 

————————-

Translator’s Corner

————————-

elsondwarf:

I’M FINALLY DONE! THIS TOOK FOR EVAH xD

In the meantime anything you guys want to add?

 

Sam Jakes:

I’m one of the editors of this novel. I like cats, bewbs and ISSTH.

I’m also secretly an octopus ~~(-3-)~~

 

elsondwarf:

…

Let’s just leave it at that…

Also, GO TO SLEEP!
————————-

 

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